can't get engine lid to open - '88 80Q

[Tessie McMillan]

Lately the hood release mechanism has been requiring more and more force 
to release the engine lid. Now it seems there's nothing doing when I pull 
on it. I am able to release only the driver's right side of the engine 
lid.

Page 55.5 of my Bentley shows (sort of) how the cable actuates the release 
under the hood, but to me it seems to leave a lot to the imagination.

I tried accessing the release through the front grille, but still can only 
get the driver's right side to release by sliding the center hook (the 
one you'd normally slide with your hand) to the right. I can only move it 
a certain distance, as the lid is stuck tight on the right side, just to 
the right of center.

Can anyone provide any information on what else I could try? I don't 
understand the two items magnified as "guide sleeves" to the left and 
right of the center hook (which, BTW is not pictured in my Bentley).

I am afraid of breaking the release that is located inside the car, 
although I can pull it quite a bit and I don't feel that snappy tension it 
formerly had. Does this mean the cable is broken or merely loose?

Hoping someone knows the mechanism a little better...

Tess
in Bellevue, WA USA